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Universal Standard Of English Essay

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A universal standard of English
Kachru’s model shows the existence of a whole world of Englishes. This diversity is a source of an ongoing debate about a universal standard variation. The main reason for this debate is the fear that the use of non-standard varieties of English “will lead to a lack of intelligibility among speakers of English” (McKay and Bokhorst-Heng, 2008, p.140). Randolph Quirk, on the one hand, argues that there is a need for a common standard in all three circles of English. In his point of view, “tolerance for variation in language use was educationally damaging in Anglophone countries” (McKay and Bokhorst-Heng, 2008, p. 140). This indicates Quirk’s support of a monolithic model, which uses native speakers as models. The supporters of this model argue that if various local standards will develop, the varieties of English across the world would become mutually unintelligible (ibid, p. 141).
On the other hand, those who does not share this …show more content…

Seargeant (2012, p.35) points out that English serves “as a way for people from different social groups to communicate with each other.” He argues that to in case to fulfil this need, there the language should be “curtained to certain extend”, otherwise English can become too diverse and “will not remain mutually comprehensible across different social groups”. Widdowson (1994) disputes that “an international language has to be an independent language” (p.385). According to him, it does not mean that this international language will result in “mutually unintelligible varieties”. He believes that a standard form will be a naturally stabilised since preservation of the common standards “is clearly vital to the interests of the international community” (ibid.) What are these common interests? According to Graddol (2006, p.38), “English is widely regarded as a gateway for wealth for national economies, organisations, and

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